Belle the Terrible

The landlord has five dogs here at the moment including "Belle" a hunterway who apparently came from an abusive home as a younger dog. She is a nasty dog, pack leader to the other sheepdogs and the only one that has bitten me (twice). Belle leads the other dogs into all sorts of mischief including worrying cattle and the horses which she backs into a corner. She absolutely loathes my Sheltie Mishka and takes every opportunity to sneak onto this property, defecating in front of us to establish her dominance.

Thursday was a balmy warm late Autumn day so I decided to give Mish a bath. To do this I fill two buckets with warm water and have a hose running nearby while I wash him on the patio at the front of the cottage. We'd finished and I tied him to the front wrought iron railing while I went inside to find the blow drier to finish him off. As I went past the front window I noticed Belle come in over the front cattlestop. The next thing Mish had slipped his lead and was trying to chase her out. By the time I got out she had him pinned onto the front lawn and was taking a chunk out of his back. When I yelled at her she ran out the front gate with Mish behind her- I am hoping he took a piece out of her leg as she was limping as she ran away.

So Mish had to be washed down yet again as he was covered with dirt. I spent a good twenty minutes drying him off despite being shaky. Couldn't find any wounds on his back so looks like his thick coat saved him yet again.

A few years ago Belle and another dominant bitch called Jess bailed Mish up on the front lawn. Jess bit Mish in the jugular and Belle in the back. What got me was this was witnessed and I never received an apology. Instead I had a $50 vet bill for antibiotics.

Time has marched on and Jess has gone to that great dog kennel in the sky and I'm hoping that Belle won't be long following her. The other dogs here are all friendly with Mish so she's definitely a problem dog who is out to establish her superiority. Frankly I would never keep an animal that worries my stock as this "game" can so swiftly change to something more dangerous.

Timber!

My landlord came in over the weekend to say that he would be removing the wattle tree that fell into the backyard during the big rain a couple of weeks ago. I asked him to start the chainsaw up away from the rabbit shed so they're weren't startled and I would sit in with them for the duration. He also mentioned wanting to cut down all the trees on the eastern boundary (along my driveway). This was pretty startling as it meant I would lose all my privacy but on the plus side some sun would come into the end of the cottage.

Sunday morning work began but stopped almost immediately when the chainsaw broke. Resuming at lunchtime Ken took nearly two hours to chop down the wattle and remove it. I sat with the angoras who were absolutely terrified. I put my hand on Cadbury who was nearest to the noise in order to keep him settled.

After finishing with the wattle the shelter belt along the drive was the next to go including twenty foot high bottlebrush trees and a few native shrubs. I asked for the smoke tree and a very tall native tree that I don't know the name of to be left. Also two silver birches and a gum down the end were left as they really don't take any sun from the cottage (the photo is an old shot showing the gum tree near the gate- you can see how dark the backyard was from the shelterbelt). Ken then got his tractor and pulled the branches into the middle of the paddock and these will later be burnt.

Yesterday was the moment of truth- would the sun come into the cottage? The answer was sort of. Yes it is lighter in here but there is a shelterbelt of tall pines on the northern boundary of the field next door and this is what is stopping the sun coming in here during the winter.

Farriers

Farriers have become as scarce as hen's teeth here in the Hawkes Bay over the past few years. Part of this must be blamed on the lack of young people going into the profession and who can blame them? It's back breaking work (literally) plus you have to bear the indignity of dealing with the horse fraternity- not all of whom are polite or used to dealing reasonably with other people.

My first farrier was a tall guy from Napier who was hard to get hold of unless you rang him late at night (he worked on the wharves). The last time I saw him was in 1998 before I moved out here. His back was so painful he was having to give up farrier work. I then was told of a local man who lived slightly south of the farm. He didn't like working with my donkey at all although she really only got cranky when he touched her left hind foot. Also he would only come several weeks after you'd called him so I ended up ringing him before I needed to so that by the time he arrived the horse and donkey's hooves were ready to be trimmed. In the end he got a full time job and gave up his farrier work.

Finally I was told about Darryn a young farrier based down Central Hawkes Bay. Unlike many people he was happy to travel out here as he worked as far north as Tutira. What's more Briar the donkey adores him. He doesn't even have to tie her up to work on her feet. Goes to show what a good judge of character animals are. Sometimes he talks about cutting down his workload but I always hope that he won't as he is an important part of our equine friends' lives. Lately I have had trouble getting hold of him and was worrying that he had finally retired but last week managed to call him on his mobile phone and he's coming on Monday to trim Briar's feet.

Oh and another benefit of farriers- they know all the gossip and can fill you in about anything happening in the horse world!

Webbed Feet

Two things I am wishing for at the moment. Webbed feet and a digital camera so I could show the devastation caused by all this rain. Had two lots of visitors over the weekend and they couldn't use my driveway in from the road as the culvert has washed out. Instead they drove round to my landlord's gateway and then made a shortcut across the paddock in front of his place into mine. Hard to explain without a photo but at least they were able to get in here.

Today is meant to be sunny which will at least mean that I can do some washing before the rain returns for the rest of the week. It's also nowhere as cold as usual for autumn which for me confirms that our climate is changing. Last year was a warm wet winter and this one looks like it's going to be even worse.

My chick is four weeks old now. She is brown with a few white speckles on her back so lets hope she is going to turn out to be one of the painterly chickens. Cordelia's wheezing was non existent yesterday so am wondering if the pile of garlic I threw into the henhouse late last week helped. I have given all the other animals apple cider vinegar and garlic in their drinking water to help build up their immune systems.

Otherwise my life consists of mud, mud, and more mud.

Building a boat...........

The rain storm we had last weekend lasted three days and dumped ten inches of water (the wettest it's ever been up here on the farm apparently). If it had stayed at that it would have been ok but after only one day of sunshine the rain came back in a big way. The soil being too sodden to hold anymore moisture caused my henhouse to go under water and the rain even ran into the rabbit shed and flooded that although the bunnies were safe and dry as their cages are suspended. But the worst part of all was that when I came home from town on Wednesday afternoon (yes mad dogs and kiwi women go out in the teeming rain) the large wattle tree at the southern boundary of my place had fallen into the backyard. The ground was so wet that the roots just pulled free so now it's lying on top of the lemon tree.

The road is also in a bad way and someone who was heading out here to see me ended up bogged down in the shingle in the new section of road my landlord is constructing to bypass all the winding sections. She did free herself but turned round and went straight home for a shower as she was drenched. Now she says she won't come out here for another week and only if it's sunny!

Yesterday was sunny and warm so there was frantic reconstruction of the drive by the landlord in his tractor while I did the washing, dumped dirt into the holes in the henhouse floor to mop up the water and worked with the rabbits as their coats are beginning to web after all this damp. And the weather forecast......yes more rain coming from late today.

Show Over

It has taken over a week to recover from the Creative Fibre Festival held over the last weekend (21-23 April 2006). Shared the stand with a lovely lady who breeds Gotland sheep which was great. Had photos of some of my bunnies up on my stand's back wall to show people the type of colours you can get in angora plus a couple of examples of scarves knitted in the fibre. Everyone enjoyed stroking these to assess the softness.

Gave away 30 business cards and 55 spinning instruction sheets and sold enough fibre to pay for the feed over the autumn and winter. Agouti and sooty fawn were the most popular colours but if I had more than two small packets of the apricot (orange) I think this would have surpassed these as people loved the shade. Surprisingly the cream didn't sell as well as I thought but then I think colours have fashions and the darker shades are in at the moment. The third grade didn't move at all on the first day until I put a sign on the basket stating what you could use it for. After that some people bought it to try in felting and dying. One lady also bought a couple of packets to put in her artwork.

The blend I had done came out beautifully- a subtle shade of pearl grey at 25%angora to around 75% fine wool. I sold several smaller lots of this but the 200 gms didn't move. I should have broken these up halfway through the festival but then hindsight has 20/20 vision. I floundered a bit when talking to knitters which made me realize that I really do need to get back to knitting so I know what I'm talking about. Also I think I would have sold lots more to the public if I had spun yarn and knitted items there.

Did get lots of people who had had bad experiences with angora. I explained about the disadvantages of shorn fibre (sounds like they were using badly clipped angora from backyard pets) but some had already made up their minds on the subject. One lady also told me that angora is out of fashion. Good news though is that a local person who used to farm angoras has offered me some old cages she has sitting at her son's place. She doesn't know what state they're in so will have to go along and have a look. Perhaps they'd even be suitable for cannibalizing to repair some of mine.I also spent some of my money on two packets of alpaca (grey and brown) and a Gotland fleece from Irene to spin up with my fibre.

It annoys me how new people come and think they'll buy a couple of angora rabbits, breed them to death and then make a fortune at selling fibre and animals. The reality is that it is definitely a cottage industry and interest amongst the spinners needs to be drummed up. It's an uphill battle and you never ever make a profit. You either need to have a passion for the breed or be a little bit crazy!

All in all it was an interesting weekend and I hope that I've made enough contacts to get me through the next couple of years. I was asked to attend the next festival in Taranaki but told them I can't but would be willing to send my stuff along if they can find another trader willing to sell on my behalf. I did come away inspired by all the wonderful fibres and fashions I saw on display but oh so tired!

Bird City

I haven't had much time to post the past week as I have been preparing for the Creative Fibre Festival here in Napier next week. Spent two weeks of evenings going through fibre I bought from a lady early last year. Much of it was clipped and ungraded so I had to painstakingly go through every bag and pull out second cuts and webbing. Ended up with 9 ounces of first grade white and blue fibre.

After the disappointment of Cordelia's clutches not hatching I was surprised and pleased to hear cheeping in the hen house when I went out to feed the chickens late last Sunday afternoon. The same hen who produced one solo pullet late November had gone and done it again, hiding in the broken plastic rubbish bin that I have in their run. I quickly scrubbed out an outside rabbit hutch and then carried the bin, Nutmeg, her one chick and three eggs there. Unfortunately the eggs were already cold so I think she abandoned them as soon as the only survivor hatched out. This seems to be a pattern with Nutty. Anyway a week on the chick's first pin feathers are showing and their dull brown colour seems to indicate another pullet. Very lucky break!

Happened to glance out the window yesterday afternoon to see a strange beady eye looking through the wire fence from the next door paddock. At first I thought it was a stray hen but as it cautiously moved into the open I saw a female pheasant. When I first came out here in 1999 there was a beautiful male pheasant who would come and walk across my front lawn. Unfortunately he disappeared (I guess due to the farm dogs) so I hope the same fate doesn't happen to this little hen.

With the days closing in the bird life is increasing again with the end of their breeding season. Yesterday I saw my first male chaffinch of the year plus there is a bellbird that comes and sings in the trees along my driveway. The fantails are returning and one cheeky one comes in the rabbit shed with me. They are my favourite native bird as they're so full of personality.

The baby sparrow I raised a year ago has gone strangely silent over the past weeks. Finally I noticed he was sitting in the corner of his cage and wouldn't even move if I wanted to clean it out. Suddenly it occurred to me that the weeks of tearing his cage cover and collecting grass out of the dried flower arrangement next to him had a purpose- he was building a nest as he thinks he's sitting on eggs! He is still completely unafraid of my cats which is a huge worry and the reason why I was unable to release him as I had hoped. The other day Demelza was sitting up beside him and turned round when I told her off. Suddenly Tuppence saw his chance and began pulling the fur out of her tail- obviously to make a nice soft lining for his nest of invisible eggs. He used to be completely enamored of Gypsy who, as a kitten, would sit beside him. He was forever reaching through his cage and trying to kiss her while she would rub him. Unfortunately or fortunately depending what way you look at it, Gyps grew out of her fascination with the sparrow and now completely ignores him.

Baby Photos

Finally got my latest film developed with shots of the last litter. Although they're now five months old and have just had their first adult coat harvested in these shots they're just ten weeks old.

This is Giselle and Sherbet in all their glory. Sherbet is the buck I had to revive in warm water at age three days when he got out of the nestbox one night. This was not a one off experience as he was constantly trying to get to his mother for a sneaky feed. He is a huge character. Giselle has a stunning coat now, beautiful and silky. Like all sooty fawns she is extremely outgoing.

Harmony and Goblin are both gentle and a bit more laid back. I had forgotten how incredibly white angora coats can be.

I am having problems obtaining a fine white fleece for blending so will have to put some white into a pale grey one I bought last winter. I have some grey fibre I was given but this was clipped and third grade was thrown in with the first. Have spent three nights painstakingly picking through the bags removing substandard fibre and second cuts. This has reduced the amount of first grade fibre quite drastically and there is not enough for a blend. Note to self: contact the wool buyers a couple of months before you actually need the fleece to give them time to source something good.

Raindrops Falling On My Head

After weeks of drought the weather has broken and we've had four days of rain plus it's turned chilly. Wet weather is also a great time to discover that your gumboots are leaking. Well I actually knew they would as a long split appeared near the base of the right one due to age (they're seven years old) so I've endured weeks of small stones making their way into the boot and lodging painfully under my foot. So next time I get some unexpected cash I'm off to Farmlands (the mecca super store of rural dwellers) to buy myself a new pair.

After weeks and weeks of sitting Cordelia the hen still has not managed to hatch any eggs. The Wyandotte ones should have hatched a week ago but nothing happened. Can't work out what's wrong but I think we're going to have to blame the hen because she's tried three batches of googies without success and you can't tell me that they were all infertile. My friend John says you can buy small incubators cheaply and he'll keep an eye out for one for me.

My autumn clean up has faltered because of the rain. I was trying to remove coats off the angora youngsters but even though we were under cover they still felt damp. I will get back onto this today once we get some clear weather otherwise their coats will web and then matt and I'll lose the lot. I still don't know if I have enough fibre for the Creative Fibre Festival in Taradale, Napier next month but if I have a run on it (unlikely as most spinners are frightened to use it) I will take orders. I need to buy in more breeding stock but have to wait for other breeders to have litters and obviously if they're reputable people they'll only have a couple a year unlike the bunny mill breeders who churn animals out for the pet market, not caring where they end up. Tossing up whether to breed Meadow to Frodo again before winter as their last litter was so good. Then perhaps by spring I'll have new stock to bring in new blood.

Angel cat has still not returned and it's over twelve weeks now. Piper has also been gone four days. I don't know what is calling them out across the fields but when they return they'll be locked in each night from now on. I can't take the worry!

The Last Days of Summer

Daylight saving finishes tonight. This always makes me a little sad as I realize that summer has ended and winter is on its way. However on the other hand in six months it will be spring and I'll be looking forward to long evenings where I have the freedom to go outside without a torch and woolen gloves.

There is still the smell of burnt grass in the mornings as we have had no rain to speak of for weeks. If it doesn't arrive soon there is going to be trouble. Just the other day I saw a farmer feeding hay out to his cattle, something that usually only happens in July/August.

Of course the drought doesn't affect Briar the donkey and Tobermory the goat. If anything they seem to put on more weight in these conditions. Poor Briar has been relegated to the back hill paddock by my landlord and although she has company in the form of several cows she is missing hanging with the horses. However there isn't much grass in that field so hopefully she'll work off some of the rolls of fat that she's managed to accumulate.

I have begun my big Autumn clean up in the rabbitry. Taking off coats before I begin the soul destroying task of cleaning the cages. I am intending to have a change round in there as well. There are a couple of cages I want out of there so I can spray the walls down with disinfectant. I am still trying to save up to replace some of my cages and hopefully will have these finished by the winter as well.

As for the garden......well the least said the better. Doesn't matter how much I water the plants still brown off and die. Except the roses which seem to be thriving. I wish I had more than two bushes but always toss up as to whether I want to spend money on a place I don't own as I will have to move on at some point. On the other hand rose bushes aren't all that expensive and at least I would get some pleasure from them before I head off into the sunset.

The Egg Man

My Shetland Sheepdog Mishka has a problem with his stomach. Unfortunately it isn't big enough to match the size of his eyes where food is concerned. Bordering on the verge of needing a canine Jenny Craig Mish supplements his diet with what has turned into a secret obsession. Mishka is a sneaky egg eater.

With so many game fowl descended bantams I am constantly finding nests in out of the way places. Mostly. Usually Mish manages to find them before I do. The only way I know this is from his dirty white bib, a guilty look and "The Smell".

"The Smell" is a combination of chicken poop and sulphur. It pervades every corner of the room, soaks into your skin and makes your eyes water. If I haven't a supply of strong incense to burn I am exceedingly miserable. Often a good hose down of his hairy rear end is the only thing that can freshen his scrofulous odour.

Last Saturday Mish obviously discovered something nasty in the toi toi bushes. For that windfall we have been punished all week. In the mornings I open the kitchen door to find a mess on the floor as he hasn't bothered to tell me he needs to go out (this has happened four times this week till finally last night I just covered everything in newspaper which saved me alot of heartache).

The piece de resistance came yesterday when I had a rare visitor. We were talking at the other end of the cottage and on coming back into the sitting room discovered something definitely very nasty on my burgundy rug. Horrified my caller shrank back against the wall while I cleaned up the mess and disinfected. I'll be lucky if she ever comes back.

When I remember Mish in years to come it will always be his predilection for eggs and his bowels I will recall the most.............

Ides of March

It is the first of March here in New Zealand. I remembered to say rabbits first thing this morning (forgot about saying "hares" last thing before going to sleep though) so lets hope that brings me some luck.

Judy M dropped in nine Wyandotte eggs last Sunday. It worked out well as when I went to put them under Cordelia she was out having a drink so I was able to clean out all the old ones (another had exploded that morning) and put a fresh nest in. She knew what I was doing as she kept popping her head through the door and clucking abuse at me. However the joy of having a new batch of eggs overcame her objections and she's back on the boil. Poor thing seems to have been sitting forever.

I have an interesting problem with my house bun Muggles. He has fallen in love with Mishka the dog and unfortunately it seems to be in the biblical sense. I let him out to have breakfast with us (he gets a little crust off my toast) and noticed he was following Mish round the room. He then began circling frantically even hopping under his stomach. Next thing.......well I'm afraid that's x rated. Suffice to say that he got the wrong way round and it all ended in tears! However I don't have much sympathy for the dog either as he has a similar habit......with the cats. This is a twisted household.

Season Shift

There's always a point in late summer where the season slightly shifts from broiling sticky weather to cooler nights. This week we had one sultry 30oC day but then a cold snap swept up the country one evening and suddenly the nights are very cool. Looking out my front window I notice the leaves on the poplar trees are beginning to turn gold. Where did the summer go?

Cordelia is still stubbornly sitting on her exploding eggs. I deliberately left her perched on these eggy landmines until I was able to source some more fertile ones. Luckily someone who lives in my area is dropping off some Wyandotte bantam eggs this lunchtime so I will encourage Cordy out with some mash and put clean paper and hay in the sleeping compartment with the new arrivals. The breeder says if she abandons them not to worry as she has a breeding pair she doesn't want. I am hopeful Cordelia will have more success at hatching this lot as she no longer has the other hens trying to lay their eggs in with her which may have affected the Barnevelders. She is so determinedly broody I have to give her another chance.

It occurred to me once that I concentrate so much on the love lives of my animals (finding fertile eggs, mating rabbits, trying to get the donkey pregnant two years ago) that I can now add pet pimp to my CV.

The Eggs and I

The Cordelia situation has become a bit of a farce. I went into her nest box yesterday and discovered another pulverized chick beneath her. I am now of the opinion that she hasn't stood on them at all but that the shell has broken, exposing dead chicks. This one was white so it looks like the shaver eggs had been fertile after all.

I cleared out any dirty eggs that were obviously not going to hatch and threw out the nest box. I've made her an alternative nest with fresh hay and she's comfortably ensconced on this with her remaining eggs. I will give her a couple more days and then throw the rest out as I have a nasty feeling they're not going to amount to anything.

When eggs fail to hatch you have to ask why. Cordelia has done a great job incubating them so either the roosters weren't firing on all cylinders or the eggs somehow got cold which seems unlikely. This is also the tail end (scuse the pun) of the chicken breeding season here in New Zealand as it will soon be autumn so perhaps this was also a factor. Whatever the reason it has been an immensely disappointing exercise.

Piper spent three days away before returning Friday morning. She wasn't very hungry and disappeared Saturday but turned up again on Sunday spending all her time asleep in a patch of grass near the rabbitry. If only Angel would come home now my mind would settle.

Disappearing Cats and Non Appearing Chicks

Angel still has not returned from her wanderings after seven weeks. The longest time she has disappeared has been nine and that was this time last year. Last week Piper cat went away for a couple of days and when she returned was especially clingly and wanting to sit on my knee all the time. Poor girl is cosmetically challenged but has a sweet nature and gets on with all the other cats. This behaviour is so unlike her but I guess the call of the baby wild rabbit season is upon her.

Cordelia's first Barnevelder egg hatched yesterday but by the time I got there it was dead. Either it died in the massive attempt to break through the shell as it was still wet or else she stood on it as her great clod hopping foot was placed neatly on its neck. None of the other eggs look like hatching which is incredibly disappointing. The whole exercise of John bringing the eggs out here may have been a waste of time.

Mother bantam and her chick have finally got used to sleeping in the hen house and I don't have to do my poor impression of a sheepdog each evening. Unfortunately the plum tree is still dropping windfalls so many of the bantams are stuffed to the gunalls and don't think they need to go into their house at night. I am afflicted with roosters and small hens wandering where they want, making a mess and a racket.

Bloody White Bastard is my oldest rooster at age ten but has lost his status as top man and been thrown out of the shed by the hens. He spends most of his day picking around the lawn and crowing, perhaps remembering better days when he was cock of the walk and an object of fear and loathing amongst the poultry population. How the mighty have fallen!

Roundup

The day before yesterday mother hen decided to fly out of the hutch where she was living with her baby in order to raid the windfall plums that have fallen on the lawn. Poor chick had no idea how to follow her so spent most of the day running up and down the cage terrible upset. However in the evening when I looked out mother had hopped back in with her offspring.

So yesterday I decided that since I was going to put them both in the hen house soon I would let them out for the afternoon. Worked a treat until the evening when I noticed that although the mother had hopped back in the baby was just running round and round the cage. Chickens could never be considered one of the brightest lights on the Christmas tree and this one seemed determined to live up to their reputation. However it made up for it's stupidity by being very very fast. Well that's what I found when I tried to catch the silly bird.

In the end I tipped the hutch on its side hoping that the bird would walk in and join its mother. Instead the mother flew out in a panic and I spent the next half hour chasing the pair of them round the front lawn. At a couple of points I nearly had them herded into the hutch but just as they were about to go in they would panic and run away into the garden. I am not a great sheepdog and became increasingly frustrated as they became increasingly obtuse. However in the end the chick tired and I was able to corner it and put it back in the cage. I tipped the hutch back over and then left them alone so that the hen would join her baby on her own. This accomplished I waited until it was nearly dark and then picked the pair up from their sleeping quarters and took them into the hen house.

But my night wasn't finished. It had been a hot day of 29oC and the two youngest cats decided playtime in the paddocks was called for. I managed to get Peach in at 9pm but Gypsy was harder to encourage into the cottage. I went into the paddock and nearly had my hand on her when she scooted further away in the dry grass. Every time I approached she would frisk away thinking it was all a big game.

Leaving her to cool down I came back inside and returned with a torch fifteen minutes later. By this time the landlord had let his sheepdogs out for their last run of the day and they chased Gypsy up a tree in my backyard. Trying to find my way amongst fallen branches and soft earth in the dark was not easy and when I managed to get to the tree Gypsy was perched on she scooted higher up into the branches before heading off back into the paddock. I shone the torch onto her as she went further and further out before giving up and coming back inside at 9.30pm. Gypsy finally came in with a despairing wail at 2am. It was not a restful night........

As I write this she is curled up asleep on my knee with not a care whereas I'm the one on painkillers trying to recover from the last roundup. Usually I don't have many problems getting the cats inside and was racking my brains trying to work it all out when I looked out the window and saw a large full moon. That explains everything about Gypsy's wild witchy mood. So note to self- in future shut certain small black cats in early on full moon evenings.

Stormy Weather

It's not very often that the meteorological boffins get it right but today they hit it right on the head. After a humid drizzly morning a strong nor'easterly storm has hit the North Island causing havoc. My friend John had driven out early to deliver the Barnevelder eggs for Cordelia to hatch and we watched as the hills gradually disappeared behind a grey sheet of rain. Chores this afternoon were a wet unpleasant experience.

It's been a sad past few days as my new vet has closed his practice in order to go back to California on business for an indeterminate time. He has been so good with housecalls (and decent over the bills) that he's going to be well and truly missed by all his clients. Rabbit savvy vets are hard to find in New Zealand and those that are here charge like wounded bulls. Hopefully he'll soon be back here to resume his practice. Pretty depressed as I seem to have been going from one vet to another for a couple of years since my previous one went on sabbatical to the UK.

Muggles, my house bunny, was in need of vet treatment over the weekend as he developed a red itchy patch on his face. He scratched it so much he inflamed his eye. The vet sent up a tube of ointment which has settled it all back down so it looks like he may have set up a small infection (I'm blaming the hay as it's full of grass seeds and thistles). I've taken the hay away and will gradually reintroduce it and see what happens.

Angel is still away. Hopefully this savage weather will send her home.

Oh Cordelia.....

Cordelia came here about four years ago when a friend of a friend was downsizing her poultry numbers. A large black hen with ruffles of feathers around her face she constantly looks shocked as if someone has just told her a dirty joke and she doesn't quite approve. Not only that she lays green eggs. People usually go "yuk" at the mention of this despite my explaining that it's only the shells that are green, inside the eggs are perfectly normal. Someone told me Cordelia was probably an Araucana but she certainly doesn't resemble any pictures I've found. Even so when she's in a laying mood she presents me with a green egg nearly every day.

This week Cordelia went broody. She sits silently in the nestbox trying to hatch whatever egg someone else happens to lay there. This is a nice change from the bantams who sneakily lay their eggs in remote places and then one day just disappear, turning up three weeks later with a new family. To celebrate Cordelia's maternal feelings a friend is going to collect half a dozen Barnevelder eggs from his neighbour "Peter Goat" and drive out Monday so we can pop them under her. At the moment I am trying to leave her alone with her one egg so she doesn't go off the boil.

Apparently Barnevelders lay brown speckled eggs but aren't as prolific layers as the brown shavers. I told my friend "well my shavers have only just started to lay again after a year" to which he replied "yes but your shavers are on crutches" referring to their advanced years! Poor old girls would be mortified to hear themselves being so disparagingly spoken of. In their small chicken minds they're still young pullets.........

A Cat On The Head Is Worth Two Anywhere Else

Not a joke. I woke up Monday morning with a cat asleep on my head. Last night I found two asleep on my pillow despite them having started off further down the bed when I had turned the light off. Demelza always lies curled up by my right shoulder and doesn't move till 4am when she decides she has to go walkabout. What I'll do when winter comes and Piper and Angel want to come inside to sleep I have no idea. I see myself ending up asleep on the floor while the cats take over the bed.

Cooking Down Under

The heat is oppressive- real headache weather. I managed to dig out about ten thistles round the hen house before it really kicked in and now have finished the west side of the garden. The cats lie in whatever shade they can find and Mishka lies permanently by the back door in the breeze. I will not complain though as the thought of the cold weather a few months away is just depressing.

I am having a real egg explosion which is quite unusual for this time of year. Usually from August to Christmas is my best time but 2005 was quite different and I barely collected a couple of dozen. Now here it is, the hottest and usually the most eggless time of year and I have just come inside from collecting five eggs including one huge brownie from the ancient shavers. Even Peanut my 11 year old bantam hen is laying behind a bale of hay in the rabbitry!

I have been reading an agricultural newspaper that advertises organic apple cider vinegar with garlic. Much cheaper than at the supermarket with around 20 litres for NZ$45.00 and free delivery anywhere in New Zealand. I am going to order some in a couple of weeks and keep all the animals on it as a tonic and wormer. Prevention is worth a ton of cure.